


Cradled by Stars

by Talashar



Category: Myst Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 00:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20300188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talashar/pseuds/Talashar
Summary: Catherine dreams about the birth of her first child.





	Cradled by Stars

She sat up suddenly from her bed and took deep breaths to keep herself from weeping, absurd as it was. Feeling Atrus’s arms go around her, she relaxed into them, grateful for him and the comfort he gave her. “I dreamed about our child,” she said at last; his hands moved down to caress her swollen belly. He was still in awe of it all, she knew, amazed by what they had created together.

“It was a good dream, I hope,” he said. Yet despite everything, he still couldn’t find it in himself to trust her dreams.

“I dreamed that I was giving birth,” she said. “Even though Anna was there, I was scared. It hurt so much that I felt I was going to die. It was strange: I looked up and I thought I saw the fissure and its stars above me.”

“But you were on Myst, weren’t you?”

Already her memories of the dream were clouded, and she was unable to answer. “You had gone to get water from the pool. I didn’t want you to go; I called out for you even while Anna was trying to comfort me.”

He didn’t say anything for a few minutes, then he said, “I imagine it’s only because you’ve been so worried lately. But you know Anna says you’re healthy and that everything will go as it should. I’ve never known her to be wrong about anything.”

“No.” She was almost persuaded now that it was only an ordinary dream. “And when Achenar arrives,” she began to say.

“Achernar.”

“_Katran_,” she said, and Atrus chuckled. “When Achenar arrives, she’ll have so much more than you or I did. The island of Myst and all the Ages that are to come...”

“We’ll teach him to write. We’ll fill whole libraries on Myst with our wonderful Ages.”

“Mmm.” She hesitated over whether to say what she was thinking now: he dismissed her dreams, so how much more would he dismiss this? “In Riven the elders said that at times the souls of the dead find new bodies to dwell in. Gehn called it a foolish superstition, of course. I’ve dreamed of it, though. I’ve dreamed of souls merging and splitting in the air above the dead.”

“Like your fireflies,” said Atrus, sounding half-asleep.

“Yes. Do you remember when you tried to catch one in a cage, and it ran round and around on itself?” He didn’t answer, and after a moment she heard his snoring. Catherine smiled to herself and shut her eyes. Her questions could wait for another day.


End file.
